Hyundai Elite i20 Diesel or Petrol (Cost vs Fun)?

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Iíve owned a Hyundai Santro since 2001 and it has been a very satisfying car throughout. I bought ...

View Poll Results: Which variant of the Hyundai Elite i20 should I purchase?

Iíve owned a Hyundai Santro since 2001 and it has been a very satisfying car throughout. I bought a Hyundai Fluidic Verna SX (O) CRDi 1.6 two years ago and continue to be impressed with its fantastic feature set, looks and quality of interiors even today.

Iím also a fan of its powerful diesel engine. The one thing I hate is the handling, but given the options available when I bought it, I do not regret it one bit. I only wish that Iíd bought the automatic variant instead.

Our Santro is on its last legs now and we want to replace it with the Hyundai Elite i20. I was only able to take its petrol variant out for a test drive but found it to be a bit sluggish for my taste, even compared to my Santro. Perhaps I am too used to the power of the Verna now.

My yearly driving, both cars combined, is only about 10,000 Ė 12,000 kilometres (and most of it spent in the backseat, due to the nature of my profession), so any potential cost-saving is not a factor in wanting the diesel engine. Iím aware that Iíll never be able to recoup even half of the upfront cost Iíll be paying for the pricier i20.

That said, is it at all worth considering buying the diesel variant of the i20? Is it that much better in terms of driving performance and fun, particularly for city driving, than its petrol sibling?

I deeply regret having bought the manual version of the Verna and if the Elite i20 was available in automatic today, that is what I would buy. So, one more question: is it worth it to wait a few months in the hope that Hyundai will launch an automatic version of the petrol variant at a not much higher price?

My yearly driving, both cars combined, is only about 10,000 – 12,000 kilometres (and most of it spent in the backseat, due to the nature of my profession)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aryayush

That said, is it at all worth considering buying the diesel variant of the i20? Is it that much better in terms of driving performance and fun, particularly for city driving, than its petrol sibling?

Why are you keen on driving part if you'll spend most time on back seat? Diesel version does feel livelier than Petrol but isn't worth considering the lesser usage. If at all the driving pleasure is a prime criteria, look out for a different hatchback. Our official review might help: http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...-pictures.html.

Well, I try to drive every chance I get, and there are entire months where I’m between drivers and get to drive it myself (which is both a blessing and a curse), so I was thinking about those times. But you guys are right, it does not make sense for me. If the diesel version was marginally more expensive than the petrol burner, then that is what I would buy—but given the price difference, I’ve decided to go for the petrol after all. I took it for another test drive today on open roads and it was fine enough. As for other hatchbacks, well, after seeing the exterior and interior design of the i20 and the feature set, I simply don’t like anything else. We’ll stay in the Hyundai stable for now (and the company deserves this loyalty). :)

I’m leaning towards ordering it in pristine blue, but let’s see what my mother likes. I’ll place an order in the evening today.

Hyundai is known for its feature rich gizmos loaded cars they launch now and elite is another one they launched.
Pristine blue looks superb on elite.And petrol does suits your needs being on the rear seat most of the time.

One thing for sure is that the 1.2 petrol isn't as peppy as Grand i10 and is thirsty. This engine isn't efficient at all. Be it any car that use this engine. If you're looking for petrol I would say look at Polo TSI, Swift, Micra CVT.

The Polo is outside our budget, the Swift is an (outstandingly) ugly car and the interiors on the Micra are completely uninspiring. I really wanted to like the Micra because of the CVT, but it felt like a much cheaper car than it is from the inside (which is the opposite of the Elite i20). Nissan needs a better designer who'll get rid of that circular media console and weird door handles, and improve everything else.

Every car comes with its own set of compromises, but I think the Elite i20 makes the fewest of them.

Diesel
-> Exp by 1.3 L. OTR is 9.8L (Including extended warranty and basic accessories and zero depreciation insurance).
-> Extended warranty is more exp (9k).
-> Maintenance is more exp. (5k per year over 5 years)
-> FE of 16 in city.
-> Good Power